How to Celebrate Robert E. Lee

Five states - Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama - mark Robert E. Lee's birthday, January 19, as an official holiday. But whether you are in the North or South, you can celebrate the life of this Southern gentleman.

Things You'll Need

• Civil War-era Cookbooks
• Biographies Of Robert E. Lee
• Bourbons
• Sprigs Of Fresh Mint
• Superfine Sugar
• Julep Cups
• Airline Tickets To Richmond

Instructions

1. Read a biography of Robert E. Lee. Or better yet, explore some of his own writings; they'll always give you more insight into a character than a second-person rendering.

2. Take a trip to Virginia and tour Lee's homes: Stratford Hall Plantation, where he was born; the house in Alexandria where he grew up; and Arlington House, now known as the Robert E. Lee Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.

3. Visit the Old Hall of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol. There you'll see a statue honoring Lee as an outstanding citizen by the state of Virginia.

4. Fly to Richmond, Virginia, and drive across southern Virginia to Appomattox and cover the same terrain General Lee and his army traversed during the last week of the Civil War (at the end of which, on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant).

5. Read the chapter "Appomattox" in William Zinsser's book, "American Places," if you can't make the trip to Virginia - or even if you can.

6. Throw a "Happy Birthday to Robert E. Lee" party. Serve Civil War-era food, pour mint juleps and drink a toast of bourbon honoring civility and dignity.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be misled by Lee's Confederate uniform. True, he led the Southern forces through the Civil War, but he deplored slavery. A West Point-trained officer who fought with valor in the Mexican War, he made a heart-wrenching decision to remain loyal to his native state when Virginia seceded from the Union.

• In Alabama, Robert E. Lee's birthday is celebrated on the third Monday of January, whether or not it falls on the 19th.